Sumner County personnel committee reopens Westmoreland library director search

The Sumner County Library Personnel Committee voted Wednesday to reopen the search for a director for the Westmoreland Public Library and to remove approval of the Feb. 18, 2025, meeting minutes from the agenda.

Committee members discussed privacy concerns raised during earlier interviews and differing views about the candidates’ fit and local ties. Chair (name not specified) told the committee that “the matter of hand is the hiring of a library director for the Westmoreland Public Library,” and said legal advice indicated the committee could not guarantee applicants’ names would be protected under current bylaws.

Why it matters: The committee’s decision resets the hiring process, restarts outreach to candidates and requires applicants to reapply under the current public-record rules. That affects applicants who have already interviewed and the Westmoreland community, which committee members said would benefit from a director with local knowledge and capacity to handle a small but active library.

Most of the discussion centered on balancing candidate privacy with transparency and on whether the interviews produced a candidate who clearly fit the job. The chair said that of the four candidates initially interviewed, “3 said they'd be willing to continue in the process, 1 dropped out.” Committee members noted two of the continuing candidates live in Westmoreland and discussed salary expectations and whether applicants understood the political and community aspects of the role.

Some members argued for reposting to broaden the pool and search for a candidate with stronger leadership experience; others warned that repeatedly reopening the search could deter applicants. Jackie Wilson (committee member) urged that postings make clear that applicants’ names will be public record under current policy.

Formal actions: The committee removed the Feb. 18, 2025, minutes from the agenda (motion made and seconded; recorded as removed during the meeting). Later, members made and seconded a motion “to repost for the position and that at this time, you’re not hired any of these candidates.” The committee then voted to repost the director position and to set the posting to begin on the coming Friday with an application period discussed as two weeks; the motion carried with a recorded tally of 2 yes, 1 no and 1 abstention (committee verbally summarized the result as “2 to 1 to 1”). The transcript did not record individual roll-call votes for that motion.

Clarifying details discussed during the meeting included that the committee had received 12 total applications for the position, that four candidates were previously interviewed and that three of those agreed to continue in the process while one withdrew. Committee members also noted candidates’ stated salary expectations were generally higher than the posted pay for the position.

Next steps: Staff was directed to repost the Westmoreland Public Library director position according to the committee’s agreed posting window and in line with existing hiring policy; the posting will state that applicant names will be part of the public record unless the county’s policy is changed. The committee did not hire any of the current candidates at this meeting.

The meeting also included routine procedural actions and closed after the committee completed the hiring discussion.